Reference: Puerta, A. R.; Egar, J. W.; & Musen, M. A. Automated Generation of Knowledge-Acquisition Tools with Mecano. Knowledge Systems Laboratory, MCS, 1992.
Abstract: Method-oriented knowledge-acquisition tools are based on a model, or method, of problem solving and can acquire knowledge for the class of tasks that can be solved with that particular problem-solving method. The capture of knowledge takes place in knowledge editors. These editors are typically based on the individual tool's domain-independent method; they fail to reflect task- and domain-specific characteristics and have no ability to adapt to user requirements. Mecano is a user-interface management system that generates automatically adaptable knowledge editors for the PROTEGE-II knowledge- acquisition shell. Mecano allows knowledge engineers to specify the components of a knowledge editor independently of any underlying problem-solving method. It also provides facilities for constraining the operations allowed on the components, for selecting interaction styles for each component, and for linking components to coordinate their simultaneous display. Knowledge editors generated by Mecano take into account the needs and requirements of given tasks, domains, and users, and guide the users through the knowledge-editing process by providing visual cues and by limiting the permissible editing operations to those relevant in the domain of interest.
Full paper available as ps.